Eámanë and the Desolation of Smaug
by TheStoryDreamer
Summary: This is part two of my Hobbit series and it follows a young elleth as she journey's with Thorin and Company. Come along and see how she faces each challenge presented.
1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone! I hope you are enjoying this so far and if so I thank you so much. As always, ENJOY the story!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Hobbit movies. I only wish I did.

 _Elvish_

-Dream-  
" _Please, ada, let me go."  
_ " _No. You are too young."_  
I wanted to stomp my foot in frustration but I knew that wouldn't help my case any. " _If the twins and Arwen are allowed to travel Middle Earth, why can't I?"  
_ " _They are many years older than you, and can handle their own in dangerous situations."_ he began to walk away but I just situated myself in front of him.  
" _Arwen said that she was my age when she first ventured out and I am fully capable as I have been trained by the best."_  
His mouth pulled up slightly as he knew I was talking about him but he resisted smiling as to seem stern. " _That was a different time. Before your mother..."_ he drifted off a moment before quickly moving on, " _It does not matter. You've never faced real opponents."  
_ " _And I am not given the opportunity to face real opponents!"  
_ " _Enough, Eámanë!"_ I took a step back in surprise at the sudden harshness. Upon seeing my reaction, his face softened and he suddenly seemed worn down. " _Please, Eámanë. I am afraid of losing you."_  
I couldn't say anything at first. Ada rarely shows his emotions, and never once had I thought he would fear anything. I took one of his hands in my own. " _You won't lose me, ada. Trust me on this. I may not be ready, but I fear I shall never be if I don't leave the safety of home."_  
He sighed and began to trace circles on the back of my hand like he would when I was little.  
-Dream Ends-

That's when I woke up to an early morning sky. I continued to lay there as I became deep in thought. I was 15 when that took place. Ada couldn't give me an answer that day. It took at least two weeks to bring himself to give me consent. I was overjoyed as there was nothing I wanted more than to explore the lands. I was home within a week.  
After a couple days' ride I ran into a small group of orcs. I was able to take care of them myself leaving with only a few shallow cuts and bruises but the experience left me shaken. When I arrived in Rivendell I expected a lecture but there was none. Six moons passed of constant training before I felt confident enough to go out again. Ada wasn't pleased but he let me go. As the moons leading up to my joining of the company I would leave home more and more but I could never stay away as long as my siblings did. The quest to Erebor would break that record, as ten moons had already passed since we left Rivendell.  
"Ah! Good morning, Eámanë."  
I sat up to see Gandalf smoking nearby, keeping watch. "Good morning. Have you been awake long?"  
"Oh, a couple hours I'd say but I love to see the sunrise."  
Looking towards the horizon, I commented "It's shaping to be a glorious day."  
As if on cue, the howls of wargs rang through the air. The company quickly got up and then we began to move as one. We've had too many close calls to do otherwise.  
We didn't stop until we reached the side of a steep hill. "We need to be sure of how close they follow if we are to get away. Bilbo."  
We turned to look at the hobbit as he seemed shocked for a moment. When the moment passed he just nodded and then went to go up the hill. It didn't seem to be long before he came back, breathing hard.  
Dwalin was the first to speak. "How close is the pack?"  
"Too close." He managed to get out, "A couple of leagues, no more, but that is not the worst of it."  
"Have the Wargs picked up our scent?"  
"Not yet, but they will; we have another problem."  
"Did they see you?" Gandalf asked before jumping to a conclusion, "They saw you!"  
"No, that's not it."  
"What did I tell you? Quiet as a mouse. Excellent burglar material."  
The dwarves began to chuckle loudly in appreciation. I noticed Bilbo looked exasperated. "Be quiet please!" I shouted before turning back to the hobbit. "What is it, Bilbo?"  
"Thank you. I'm trying to say there is something else out there."  
Now that we were all listening, looks of worry were shared. Except for Gandalf who, as always, seemed to know exactly what was going on. "What form did it take? Like a bear?"  
"Ye..." Bilbo paused as we looked curiously at the wizard "Y- yes. But bigger, much bigger."  
"You knew about this beast?" Bofur asked the wizard but didn't receive an answer. "I say we double back."  
"And be run down by a pack of Orcs." Thorin pointed out.  
"What lies ahead?" I asked as I knew nothing about the area.  
After a moment's hesitation Gandalf replied, "There is a house, it's not far from here, where we might take refuge."  
"Whose house?" Thorin asked, "Are they friend or foe?"  
"Neither. He will help us, or he will kill us."  
A look of shock crossed my face as I took in our current predicament. Once again Thorin spoke up. "What choice do we have?"  
A roar split the air behind us and I could only guess that it was the bear.  
"None." Gandalf said somberly.  
Nonetheless we were still hesitant to move. I took a deep breath. "Let's move!"  
By this time, the morning was already gone as the sun reached it's highest peak. We moved forward at a rapid pace until we were out of the woods and out in the plains. Knowing that we would be exposed, we took off at a full run. With encouragements from Gandalf we didn't stop except when the load roar of the beast seemed to vibrate the very air. We only started to move again when Gandalf shouted, "This way, quickly!"  
Not even stopping when we came to more trees, we continued to push ourselves to the limit. When we exited we found ourselves on another plain, a house nestled in the center. "To the house! Run!"  
And run we did. I was running towards the front and I was admittedly surprised when Bombur ran ahead of us all. Within moments we followed him through a gate in the hedge. "Come on, get inside!"  
When we got to the giant door itself, it seemed stuck shut. The dwarves worked together to push it open as I hear thundering footfalls. I looked back to see the humongous bear break through the tree line.  
"Open the door!" "Quickly!" Gandalf and Thorin ordered as the latter pushed his way to help with the door. When it finally opened we all bolted inside the house and I turned around to see the dwarves try to slam the door shut but there was a giant bear head in the doorway. As the bear roared and tried to push the door open, the dwarves yelled and strained to close it. Bilbo pulled out his sword and pointed it unsteadily at the bear. My hand twitched towards my quiver but it was still empty.  
"Come on, lads!"  
With a final heave, the dwarves managed to close the door and drop the bolt across it. We all sighed in relief.  
"What is that?" Ori asked.  
"That..." Gandalf replied, "Is our host."  
I looked at him in bewilderment. "Our host?"  
The wizard nodded. "His name is Beorn, and he is a skin-changer. Sometimes he's a huge black bear; sometimes he's a great strong man. The bear is unpredictable, but the man can be reasoned with. However, he is not overfond of dwarves."  
Looking over the dwarves, I weighed our options of not getting killed.  
"He's leaving!" Ori announced only to be pulled away from the door by Dori. "Come away from there! It's not natural, none of it. It's obvious: he's under some dark spell."  
"Don't be a fool;" Gandalf scolded before walking away from the door. "He's under no enchantment but his own. Alright now, get some sleep, all of you. You'll be safe here tonight."  
We began to spread out just as I heard Gandalf whisper, "I hope."  
I looked at him but if he saw, he didn't acknowledge me. Taking a deep breath I sat down on a pile of hay. Now that everything had calmed down I took the time to look around. It was a large wooden house with some animals in stalls. Everything here was greatly enlarged, so it was likely our host is also a large man. However, I would worry about it later. After the tiring journey sleeping even on the pile of hay was an great welcome. Before long the sounds of slumber filled the home and my own soon joined them.


	2. Our Host, Beorn

p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"strongspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I'm alive! There is no excuse as to why I've been gone for so long, but I hope you guys can forgive me. This chapter is a little shorter than you may like but the I wanted to end it where I did. It's probably not my best but I hope you guys ENJOY!/span/strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"It didn't seem to last long as a sound brought me out of my slumber. The door of the house opened and the sound of heavy footsteps followed. I couldn't see who it was as the door was behind me. Tensed, I waited with bated breath to see what would happen next. The steps paused before going into what sounded like another room. I relaxed, content with the conclusion that it was our host, and that he didn't see fit to kill us./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"When the sun arose the next morning I felt more rested than I had since this journey begun. Rising from the hay I looked around to once again see Gandalf up before the rest of the company. He wasn't only this time as he sat at the table with another. The first thought that came to mind was a giant as he was much taller than any other person I have ever met, not counting the trolls. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Seeing me awake, Gandalf motioned for me to join them. "Eámanë. Meet our generous host, Beorn."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I bowed my head slightly in greeting. "A pleasure to meet you, sir. Thank you for letting us stay the night."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He nodded in return and then offered me some milk and honey bread. As I took a seat the others began to get up, with Bilbo being the last to rise. Beorn began serving everyone as they all took their seats. As he poured milk he looked to Thorin. "So you are the one they call Oakenshield. Tell me, why is Azog the Defiler hunting you?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Looking surprised, Thorin asked "You know of Azog? How?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""My people were the first to live in the mountains before the Orcs came down from the north. The Defiler killed most of my family, but some he enslaved."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Upon hearing this information it was the first I dared to fully look at the remnants of manacles on Beorn's wrist that I noticed previously. Meanwhile, he continued his tale. "Not for work, you understand, but for sport. Caging skin-changers and torturing them seemed to amuse him." /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""There are others like you?" Bilbo asked, speaking for the first time that morning./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Beorn gave him a sorrowful look. "Once, there were many."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""And now?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Now, there is only one."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"All of us looked at him in silence, at a loss for what to say. I couldn't even imagine being the last of my kind. All my friends and family killed for kind skin-changer broke the silence. "You need to reach the mountain before the last days of autumn?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Gandalf must have previously informed him of our quest as he replied, "Before Durin's Day falls, yes."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You are running out of time."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Which is why we must go through Mirkwood."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I inwardly cringed at his statement, and at the name he chose to call it by. In my heart, it will always be the Greenwoods. Regardless, it is never a place I preferred to visit. "A darkness lies upon that forest." our host darkly stated, "Fell things creep beneath those trees. There is an alliance between the Orcs of Moria and the Necromancer in Dol Guldur. I would not venture there except in great need."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""We will take the Elven Road. That path is still safe."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Safe? The Wood-Elves of Mirkwood are not like their kin." he gestured to me while I tried not to meet anyone's gaze, "They're less wise and more dangerous. But it matters not."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I agree about being unwise," I muttered under my breath, "I don't know about dangerous though."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Thorin looked thoughtful, completely unaware that I said anything. "What do you mean?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""These lands are crawling with Orcs. Their numbers are growing, and you are on foot. You will never reach the forest alive."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"We shared looks of shock as Beorn stood from the table to face Thorin. "I don't like dwarves. They're greedy and blind, blind to the lives of those they deem lesser than their own."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He picked up a mouse that I didn't notice had been scampering on the table and then held it, all the while approaching Thorin. who now stood with his arms crossed. I held my breath in anticipation. "But Orcs I hate more. What do you need?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I let out a sigh of relief and we quickly finished our meal as we discussed what supplies we needed./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Once ready, we mounted our borrowed steeds. By luck, Beorn had both ponies and full-sized horses for us to ride in comfort. I rode a chestnut mare that seemed unused to a rider. Not for the first time I turned to Beorn and said, "Thank you for your hospitality." /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He nodded in return. "Go now, while you have the light. The hunters are not far behind."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Not needing any further motivation, we raced forward across the plains. Although our horses were likely unaccustomed to hard rides, they seemed to be able to keep up with the pace we set./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"We rode steadily until we came to the border of a gloomy-looking forest. If it wasn't for the familiar ancient archway, I wouldn't have believed this dark place to be the Greenwoods. "The Elven Gate." Gandalf announced as we dismounted, "Here lies our path through Mirkwood."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""No sign of the Orcs." Dwalin pointed out, "We have luck on our side."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a certain bear on a distant ridge. There was no doubt that it was Beorn, keeping a watchful eye on us. I smiled. "It seems like we have more than luck on our side."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Some looked as well and nodded in agreement. "Set the ponies loose." Gandalf announced, "Let them return to their master."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I turned to my horse and began removing the provisions given to us by the skin-changer. I made sure to give a quick rubdown while whispering my thanks to the mare. Once that was done I gave her a gentle smack on her rump to send her on her way. Behind me, our hobbit was observing the forest. "This forest feels," he paused as if searching for the right word, "Sick. As if a disease lies upon it. Is there no way around?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Not unless we go two hundred miles north," Gandalf answered, "Or twice that distance south."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"As the wizard began the path I moved to follow him. We approached a plant-covered statue. What was visible of it showed that it was a statue of an elven maiden. He stared thoughtfully at it before approaching the statue apprehensively and quickly yanking off the vines. Underneath revealing a painted-on eye of sorts. Although I didn't know what it meant, just gazing upon it gave me a feeling of malice. I cautiously approached. "What is that, Gandalf?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He looked at me with dread in his eyes, "I fear nothing good." He rushed out to the others where the others were just about ready to continue. I stayed rooted to the spot as I thought about what Gandalf said, and what the eye meant. Could it have to do with everything going on as of late? With the necromancer, sword, and even possibly our quest?/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Before I could find an answer, the company entered the path. "Gandalf left us." Bilbo informed me. I nodded, not really surprised with the way he acted. "Let us move forward." Thorin ordered, "I want to get out of this cursed forest as quick as possible." And with that, we moved away from the light and into the darkness./span/p 


End file.
